Electronic cigarette solvents, pulmonary irritation, and endothelial dysfunction: role of acetaldehyde and formaldehyde
Lexiao Jin, Jordan Lynch, Andre Richardson, Pawel Lorkiewicz, Shweta Srivastava, Whitney S. Theis, Gregg Shirk, Alexis Hand, Aruni Bhatnagar, Sanjay Srivastava, Daniel J. Conklin
Abstract
Use of electronic cigarettes (E-cig) induces endothelial dysfunction (ED) in healthy humans, yet the specific constituents in E-cig aerosols that contribute to ED are unknown. Our study implicates formaldehyde that is formed in heating of E-cig solvents (propylene glycol, PG; vegetable glycerin, VG). Exposure to formaldehyde or PG-VG-derived aerosol alone stimulated ED in female mice. As ED was independent of nicotine and flavorants, these data reflect a "universal flaw" of E-cigs that use PG-VG.Listen to this article's corresponding podcast at https://ajpheart.podbean.com/e/e-cigarettes-aldehydes-and-endothelial-dysfunction/.